Sentence Correction

Question 1

Every sentence must contain the following 2 things..

Answer 1

Every sentence must contain a subject and verb, and they must make logical sense together and agree in number (singular / plural)

Question 2

Define a fragment sentence

Answer 2

An incomplete sentence missing a subject or verb

Question 3

Define a main clause

Answer 3

A main clause is a clause that can stand alone as a sentence as is, with its own subject and verb

Question 4

Define subordinators and subordinate clauses

Answer 4

Subordinators turn clauses that they are attached to into Subordinate Clauses. They are connecting words that create subordinate clauses which can in turn attach to a main clause with a comma (although, after, if, though, because, since, unless, while, before, when, that)

Subordinate clauses cannot stand alone (ex. Because - “Because the dog was never mine” is a subordinate clause that we could fix by attaching to a main clause or dropping the subordinator)

Question 5

Identify the subject “The discovery of new medicines was vital to the company’s growth.”

Answer 5

Discovery, not new medicines, is the correct subject.

Be sure to identify the correct subject and verb as the GMAT tries to disguise the subject

Question 6

Can a noun in a prepositional phrase be the subject?

Answer 6

No

Question 7

What should we eliminate when we are looking for the correct subject?

Answer 7

Eliminate the “middlemen” such as:

1) Prepositional Phrase - modify or describe other parts of the sentence
2) Subordinate Clauses - cannot stand alone
3) Other Modifiers - modify or describe other portions of the sentence

• Present Participles (-ing forms derived from verbs)
• Past Participles (-ed and -en forms derived from verbs)

Question 8

How can we form a compound plural subject?

Answer 8

“And” can unite two or more singular objects forming a compound plural subject

Question 9

Define an additive phrase and do they differ from “and”

Answer 9

An additive phrase is words and phrases that act like “and” and add to the subject

Ex. including, along with, in addition to, as well as, accompanied by, together with

However, only “and” can chance a singular subject into a plural one

Singular subjects following by an additive phrase are still singular subjects (ex. Joe, as well as his friends, IS going to the beach)

Question 10

What is the purpose of “or”, “either … or”, “neither… nor”

Answer 10

The phrases “or”, “either … or”, “neither… nor” can link two nouns

Sometimes one is singular and one is plural

The verb should agree agree with the nearest noun

(ex. Neither the coach nor the PLAYERS ARE going to the beach)
(ex. Neither the players nor the COACH IS going to the beach)

If “either” or “neither” appear alone (without “or” or “nor”) they are considered singular and only take singular verbs

Question 11

Define collective nouns

Answer 11

Collective nouns are almost always a singular noun that refers to a group of people or objects

ex. agency, class, team, equipment, furniture

Question 12

Define indefinite pronouns

Answer 12

Indefinite pronouns are not specific to the thing to which they refer. They are:

• Any pronoun that ends in -one, -body, or -thing
• Usually singular and require singular verb forms

ex. anyone, anybody, anything
ex. no one, nobody, nothing
ex. each, every (as pronouns)
ex. everyone, everybody, everything
ex. someone, somebody, something
ex. either, neither (may require plural verb if paired with or/neither)
ex. whatever, whoever

“Each” and “every” require singular verbs as the subject of the sentence
(ex. EVERY dog and cat HAS paws)

If “each follows the subject, then it does not determine the verb form
(ex. THEY each ARE great tennis players.)

Question 13

What are the 5 indefinite pronouns that can be either singular or plural depending on the context of a sentence

Answer 13

SANAM Pronouns

Some
Any
None
All
More / Most

ex. SOME of the MONEY WAS stolen
ex. SOME of the DOCUMENTS WERE stolen

**Not one is always singular

Question 14

What is true about idiomatic expressions that designate quantities or parts?

Answer 14

In idiomatic expressions that designate quantities or parts, the subject of the sentence is in an of-prepositional phrase

They are the exception to the rule that the subject cannot be in a prepositional phrase (ex. “a number of” and “half of”)

(ex. HALF OF the PIE IS blueberry, and HALF OF the SLICES ARE already gone.)

Majority, minority and plurality are singular or plural depending on the context

Question 15

Are subject phrases and clauses always singular or plural?

Answer 15

Subject phrases and clauses are always singular

subject in singular phrase ex. “Having good friends IS a wonderful thing.”

subject in clause ex. “Whatever they want to do IS fine with me.”

Question 16

What is the Flip It Tip?

Answer 16

In most sentences, the subject precedes the verb, but the GMAT can try to trick you by having it the other way around.

If confused, flip the order so that the subject precedes the verb

WRONG: There IS a young man and an older woman at the bus stop.

FLIP IT: A young man and older woman IS at the bus stop. (by flipping it, we can see that the verb should be plural, not singular)

RIGHT: There ARE a young man and older woman at the bus stop.

Question 17

What is parallelism?

Answer 17

Parallelism states that comparable sentence parts must be structurally and logically similar

Common parallel markers indicate a need for the sentence to be parallel:
X and Z
Bother X and Z
X or Z
Either X or Z
Not X but Z
Not only X but also Z
X rather than Z
From X to Z

Almost anything in a sentence can be made parallel including nouns, adjectives, verbs, infinitives, participles, prepositional phrases, and subordinate clauses

Note that certain idioms require parallelism as a result of their structure

Question 18

What is a linking verb?

Answer 18

Linking verbs express what the subject is or what condition the subject is in (instead of expressing what it does)

ex. To be (other forms of “to be”: is, are, was, were, am, been, be, being)
ex. appear, become, feel, grow, looking, remain, taste, seem, represent, resemble, smell, sound

Treat any linking verb as a parallel marker

Question 19

What is a pronoun?

Answer 19

A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun, so that we do not have to repeat it elsewhere in the sentence

Pronoun errors are frequent in the GMAT

Third Person Personal Pronouns include: It, Its, They, Them, Their

Question 20

What is an antecedant?

Answer 20

An antecedent is a noun that gives a pronoun meaning and must actually exist in the sentence as a noun

It must logically agree (test by replacing the pronoun with the noun or noun phrase)

It was agree in number (singular antededant must refer to a singular pronoun, same goes for plural)

Question 21

Which one is correct?

Whenever a student calls, take down THEIR information.

Whenever a student calls, take down HIS OR HER information.

Answer 21

Correct: Whenever a student calls, take down HIS OR HER information.

Question 22

What is a demonstrative pronoun?

Answer 22

Demonstrative pronouns can be used as adjectives in front of nouns (ex. This, That, These, Those)

“That” or “Those” can be used to indicate a “new copy” or copies of the antecedent; “It”, “They”, and other personal pronouns refer to the same antecedent

ex. THE MONEY spent by her parents is less than THAT spent by her children.

“That” or “Those” indicating a new copy or copies must also be modified to indicate how the new copy is different from the previous version (“less than” in the example above)

Any “new copy” from “that” or “those” must agree in number with the previous version; however, if we want to change then number then we repeat the noun

Question 23

Which one is correct?

Her company is outperforming THOSE OF her competitors.

Her company is outperforming THE COMPANIES OF her competitors.

Answer 23

Correct: Her company is outperforming THE COMPANIES OF her competitors.

Demonstrative pronoun rules:

“That” or “Those” indicating a new copy or copies must also be modified to indicate how the new copy is different from the previous version (“less than” in the example above)

Any “new copy” from “that” or “those” must agree in number with the previous version; however, if we want to change then number then we repeat the noun

Question 24

Which one is correct?

Her products are unusual; many consider THESE unique.

Her products are unusual; many consider THEM unique.

Answer 24

Correct: Her products are unusual; many consider THEM unique.

Demonstrative pronoun rules:

Do not use “this” or these” in place of nouns on the GMAT (“This is great” is unacceptably vague as a sentence on the GMAT)

Do not use “that” or “those” in place of nouns unless you modify “that” or “those” to make them “new copies” (use “it”, “they” or “them” instead)

Question 25

What are the rules regarding pronoun ambiguity?

Answer 25

Every pronoun should clearly refer to one antecedent

Every “It” and Its” in a sentence should refer to the same singular antecedent

Every “Them”, “They” and “Their” must refer to the same plural antecedent

Question 26

What is a case and how many are there in English?

Answer 26

A case is the grammatical role or function for nouns and pronouns. There are 3 cases in English.

1) Subject Pronouns: can be subjects of sentences
(I, you, he, she, it, we, they, who)

2) Object Pronouns: can the object of verbs and prepositions
(me, you, him, her, it, us, them, whom)

3) Possessive Pronouns: indicate ownership or a similar relation
(my / mine, your / yours, his, her / hers, its, our / ours, their / theirs, whose)

Nouns in the possessive case (with s’ or ‘s) are often poor antecedents (executives’ or executive’s compensation); however, we can generally correct such a sentence by taking the possessing noun out of the possessive case

Don’t apply this pronoun ambiguity unless backed into a corner and choosing between two identical answers expect on has a pronoun referring to a possessive noun and the other doesn’t

Question 27

What are modifiers?

Answer 27

Modifiers describe or modify someone or something in a sentence (many modifying phrases on the GMAT are separated by commas from the noun being modified)

Examples include Adjectives & Adverbs, which are are one word modifiers:

• Adjectives modify only nouns or pronouns
• Adverbs modify almost anything but a noun or pronoun (often modify a verb, adjective, another adverb, preposition, phrase or even whole clause)

Question 28

What is a linking verb?

Answer 28

Linking verbs are followed by adjectives, not adverbs (ex. feel)

These adjectives do not modify the verb, but rather identify a quality with the noun subject

ex. “Amy is feeling well”, well is the adjective that modifies the noun, “Amy”

Question 29

What is a noun modifier and how are they positioned?

Answer 29

A noun modifier is a phrase or clause that modifies a noun or pronoun.

Noun modifiers follow the touch rule - a noun and it’s modifier should touch each other (if the modifier is next to a different noun then it is a misplaced modifier)

Ex. of misplaced modifier: Jim biked along an old dirt ROAD to get to his house, which cut through the woods. (The house cannot cut through the woods)

Note that unlike a noun modifier, a verb modifier does not have to touch the subject

Question 30

What is an appositive?

Answer 30

An appositive is a noun used to modify another noun

ex. “The CAT, a TABBY raised on a farm, took a nap.”

In the example above, “Tabby” is modifying “cat”, but is also being modified by past participle “raised on a farm”

Question 31

What is a dangling modifier?

Answer 31

A dangling modifier is created when a noun that we want to modify is not even in the sentence.

Wrong: Resigned to the bad news, there was no commotion in the office.

Right: Resigned to the bad news, the office workers made no commotion.

Question 32

What is wrong with the following sentence:

Unskilled in complex math, Bill’s score on the exam was poor.

Answer 32

The “unskilled in math” modifier is referring to Bill’s score and cannot modify Bill (obviously not what the author’s intended meaning was)

We must watch out for possessive nouns (nouns that end in ‘s or s’) as misplaced modifiers can appear in sentences with possessive nouns.

Question 33

What is a relative pronoun and how does it relate to modifiers including the rules they are subject to?

Answer 33

A relative pronoun often introduces noun modifiers (which, that, who, whose, whom, where, when).

Restrictions:

• “Who” and “whom” must modify people
• “Which” must modify things (not people or places)
• “That” according to the GMAT, clauses led by “that” cannot modify people
• “Whose” can modify either people or things
• “Which” or “Whom” sometimes follows prepositions (ex. the canal through which water flows)
• “Who” is used as the subject of a verb in a relative clause
• “Whom” is used as the subject of the verb of a preposition
• “That” or “Whom” can be dropped when the modified noun is the object of the modifying clause
  WRONG: *The movie THAT we watched last Friday was scary.”
  RIGHT: “The movie we watched last Friday was scary.”
• “Where” can be used to modify a noun place such as an area, site, country, but CANNOT modify a “metaphorical” place such as a condition, situation, case, circumstance or arrangement (use “which” rather than “where” in this scenario”
  WRONG: “We had an arrangement WHERE he cooked and I cleaned.”
  RIGHT: “We had an arrangement in WHICH he cooked and I cleaned.”
• “When” can be used to modify a noun event or time such as period, age, 1987 or decade (you can also use “which” instead of “when”)

Question 34

What is an essential modifier?

Answer 34

Essential modifiers provide necessary information (ex. “The mansion PAINTED RED is owned by the Lees. - “painted red” is necessary to identify the mission)

Put NO COMMAS between essential modifiers and their nouns

Question 35

What is a non-essential modifier?

Answer 35

Non-essential modifiers provide extra information (not needed to identify the noun)

(ex. “This mansion, RECENTLY PAINTED RED, is owned by the Lees. - “recently painted red” is not necessary because we already know which mansion)

Put COMMAS between non-essential modifiers and their nouns

Note that “which” and “who” can appear as either essential or non-essential modifiers (such as in a preposition), but you should still follow comma rules for essential and non-essential modifiers

Question 36

What is a verb modifier?

Answer 36

A verb modifier modifies verbs (answers questions about the verb such as how, when, where, why, etc.)

Verb modifiers can be placed more freely than noun modifiers (which must generally touch the modified noun) but should always be placed to modify the right verb without ambiguity)

Question 37

What rule applies to “which” and its use as a modifier?

Answer 37

“Which” can only be used to refer to the noun immediately preceding it (never to refer to an entire clause)

Question 38

What is a present participle?

Answer 38

A present participle is a verb form that indicates an ongoing state or state in the present (-ing verb form)

-ing form is very flexible:

• it can modify nouns directly (the CHANGING seasons)
• it can modify verbs and their subject (I lifted the weight, WHISTLING)
• it can modify an entire clause as long as the entire clause is converted into a noun phrase that could function as the subject of the verb that is now in the -ing form (works best to express the result of a main clause)

Note: We often use which to refer to a previous thought that is not a noun in everyday speech - that is wrong

Question 39

What is verb tense?

Answer 39

Verb tense indicates when the action of the verb took place

Trusting your ear works well for verb tense, mood and voice

Question 40

What are the 3 simple verb tenses?

Answer 40

Simple Tenses: basic times

1) Simple Present (ex. plays) (expresses eternal states or frequent events)
2) Simple Past (ex. played)
3) Simple Future (ex. will play)

• Simple present is use for general definitions, not present progressive
• Simple future is used to indicate future actions, not present progressive
  (ex. Wrong: Q is meeting H for lunch tomorrow.)
  (ex. Right: Q will meet H for lunch tomorrow.)

Question 41

What are the 3 progressive tenses?

Answer 41

Progressive Tenses: emphasize ongoing nature of actions which use the verb “to be” and present participle (-ing form)

1) Present Progressive (ex. is playing) (happening right now)
2) Past Progressive (ex. was playing)
3) Future progressive (ex. will be playing)

Verbs that express general states do not take the progressive form (ex. know, signify)
(ex. WRONG: The inscription IS SIGNIFYING the emperor’s birth. - We need to replace “is signifying” with “signifies”)

Make sure that verb tenses clearly represent the author’s meaning because changing tenses can change sentence meaning

Question 42

What are the 2 perfect tenses?

Answer 42

1) Present Perfect

2) Past Perfect

Question 43

Define the present perfect tense

Answer 43

Present Perfect tense applies to actions that started in the past but continue into the present or remain true in the present (ex. We HAVE LIVED in the hunt for three days.)

**Present Perfect = Have / Has + Past Participle

Past participle of a regular verb is simply the verb with an -ed (walk -> walked). Irregular verbs are case specific but easy (go -> gone, see -> seen)

Present perfect can also mean that the action is definitely over, but the effect is still relevant to the present moment (ex. The child HAS DRAWN a square in the sand.)

Present perfect indicates either continued action or continued effect of a completed action up to the present

Use perfect tenses only when necessary, the GMAT prefers simplicity

Question 44

Present Perfect = ?

Answer 44

Present Perfect = Have / Has + Past Participle

Past participle of a regular verb is simply the verb with an -ed (walk -> walked). Irregular verbs are case specific but easy (go -> gone, see -> seen)

Question 45

Define the past perfect tense

Answer 45

Past Perfect tense applies if two actions occurred at different times in the past. We often use Past Perfect for the earlier action and Simple Past for the later action (ex. The teacher though that J HAD CHEATED on the exam.”)

It is not necessary to use Past Perfect when the sequence in obvious (ex. I DROVE to the store and BOUGHT some ice cream.)

Clauses linked by “and “or “but” do not require Past Perfect

Use perfect tenses only when necessary, the GMAT prefers simplicity

Question 46

Past Perfect = ?

Answer 46

Past Perfect = Had + Past Participle

Question 47

Define a conditional tense

Answer 47

A conditional tense is formed by combining “would” with the base form of the verb (ex. would provide). Helping verbs express the future from the past’s point of view. Avoid mixing it with present time.

(ex. WRONG: The scientist BELIEVES that the machine WOULD BE wonderful.)
(ex. RIGHT: The scientist BELIEVED that the machine WOULD BE wonderful.)

Question 48

Define verb mood and list the two moods tested on the GMAT

Answer 48

Verb mood indicates what the writer believes about, or wants to do with, the action

1) Subjunctive Mood - expresses facts

2) Indicative Mood - (a) unlikely or unreal conditions (usually after “if” or a similar word)
(b) proposals, desires, and requests formed with certain verbs and the word “that”

Imperative Mood (commands) not tested on the GMAT

Question 49

Define the hypothetical subjunctive

Answer 49

Hypothetical Subjunctive indicates unlikely or unreal conditions (usually after “if”, “as if”, “as though”)
(ex. To overcome my fear of germs, I will think about disease AS THOUGH IT WERE harmless. - “as though” reveals that the author thinks disease is not harmless)

Hypothetical subjunctive basic form = simple past of every verb EXCEPT:
For the verb “to be”, the form “were” is always used (even though the simple past of “be” is both “were” and “was”)
**Remember: “If I WERE a rich man” NOT “If I WAS a rich man”.

For “If…then” constructions, “would” and “should” should never go in the if part of the sentence
(ex. “If Sophie eats pizza”, then we becomes ill” - avoid using would or should in the quoted part of the sentence)

Question 50

Define the command subjunctive

Answer 50

Command Subjunctive is used with “bossy” verbs - tells people to do things (ex. require, propose)

Bossy Verb + That + Subject + Command Subjunctive
(command subjunctive construction with a bossy verb - “We PROPOSE THAT the school board DISBAND.”)

Bare form - the infinite (to disband) without the “to” (ex. disband, the school board)
Bare form is like simple present except:

1) no -s on the end for a 3rd person singular
(ex. that the school board DISBAND not DISBANDS)

2) the form of the verb “to be” is always just “be” (not “is”, “are” or “am”)

Not every bossy verb uses the command subjunctive (ex. “want” cannot use the command subjunctive but rather an infinitive [to + the bare form])

ex. RIGHT: The VP WANTS her TO GO to the retreat.
ex. WRONG: The VP WANTS THAT she GO to the retreat.

Deciding whether the bossy verb should take the subjunctive or infinitive construction is based on idioms

Common verbs that only take the command subjunctive when indicating desire (demand, dictate, insist, mandate, propose, recommend, request, stipulate, suggest)
(ex. We DEMAND THAT HE BE here)

Propose can take an infinitive where there is no 2nd subject (ex. The attorney proposed to meet the following day.)

Verbs that only take the infinitive (advise, allow, forbid, persuade, want)
(ex. We ALLOW HIM TO BE there)

Verbs that take either the command subjunctive or infinitive (ask, beg, intend, prefer, urge, require)
(ex. We REQUIRE THAT HE BE HERE) or (We REQUIRE HIM TO BE HERE)

Question 51

Define Verb Voice and list the 2 types of voices

Answer 51

Verb voice indicates who or what is doing the action

1) Active Voice - the subject of the sentence performs the action (ex. The hungry students ATE the pizza.)
2) Passive Voice - the subject of the sentence has an action performed on it by someone or something else (ex. The pizza WAS eaten by hungry students.)

Passive voice is formed with a form of the verb “to be” followed by a past participle (do not use other verbs beside “to be” for the passive voice

Use “by” only for actual doers of the action

Use “through” or “because of” when you want to describe any instrument or means (which might be an awkward or nonsensical subject in active voice)
(ex. THROUGH a quirk of fate, the pizza WAS accidentally EATEN.)

If a “by” phrased is forced upon us (“by” is not in the underlined part of the sentence correction) then we must use the passive voice)

Only transitive verbs (verbs that take direct objects) can be written in passive voice (ex. You can EAT something, so something can BE EATEN.)

The verb arrive cannot be used in passive voice because you can arrive something or be arrived\

Remember active or passive voice is a matter of choice (passive can sometimes be longer and more awkward but still correct)

Active and Passive does not need to be parallel throughout a sentence (ex. The shuttle launch TOOK place flawlessly and WAS SEEN on television.)

Question 52

Give examples of comparison signals

Answer 52

Comparison is a form of parallelism that deserves special attention

Comparison signals:

like
unlike
more than
less than
faster than
different from
in contrast to / with
as
as [adjective] as
as much as
as little as
as fast as
the same as

The most important comparison signals are “like”, “unlike”, “as”, and “than” (When you spot a signal, ensure that the comparison is parallel)

“Like” is a preposition and must be followed by gerunds, nouns, pronouns, or noun phrases (never a clause or prepositional phrase)

“As” can be a preposition (appearing with a noun) or a conjunction (appearing with a clause) and can be used to compare two clause

Omitted words - Often you can omit words in the second part of the comparison (such as with possessive nouns ex. “My care is bigger than Brian’s [car].)

The possessing noun can be singular or plural regardless of the implied possessed noun (ex. Brian’s [cars] or the Smith’s [cars])

You can even omit units, verbs and even whole clauses as long as there is no ambiguity:

• (units) Where as I drink 2 quarts of milk a day, my friend drinks 3 [quarts].
• (verbs) I walk faster than Brian [walks].
• (clauses) I walk as fast now as [I walked] when I was younger.

Only add omitted words or appropriate helping verbs (be, do, have) if you need to resolve ambiguity

Question 53

What is the comparative form and superlative form?

Answer 53

The comparative form for an adjective or adverb is used when comparing two things

ex. She is SHORTER than her sister (add -er)
(ex. more interesting, less interesting)

The superlative form of an adjective or adverb is used when comparing MORE than two things

ex. She is the shortest of her five sibling (add -est)
(ex. most interesting, least interesting)

Do not compare an adverb that ends in -ly by changing the ending to -er, instead add “more”

WRONG:Adam runs QUICKLY. He runs QUICKER than Jacob.

Right: Adam runes QUICKLY. He runes MORE QUICKLY than Jacob.

Do not use a comparative adjective unless you have “than” in the sentence

ex. WRONG: With winter coming, I will have HIGHER energy bills. (implies the comparison “than now”, but it must be made explicit using “than”.
ex. RIGHT: With winter coming, I will have HIGHER energy bills than now.

Question 54

What is an idiom?

Answer 54

Idioms are expressions that have unique forms

When comparing idiom expressions, spot the difference in words and extract them to test them in a simpler sentence, then test the idiom you picked on the entire sentence.

Question 55

What are the 7 specific things that we analyze a sentence for?

Answer 55

1) Subject-verb agreement
2) Parallelism
3) Pronouns
4) Modifiers
5) Verb Tense, Mood, & Voice
6) Comparisons
7) Idioms

Question 56

What are connecting words?

What is a fragment sentence?

What is a run-on sentence?

Answer 56

Connecting words link together phrases and clauses to combine them into a complete grammatical sentence

Avoid:
Fragments - lack a main clause
Run-on - two main clauses incorrectly joined

A comma is not enough to join two main clauses

Question 57

What are coordinating conjunctions?

Answer 57

Coordinating conjunctions, together with a comma, can link two main clauses (and, but, or, for, nor, yet, so)

When “and” is next to a comma, check for:

1) Lists (x, y, AND z)
2) Two main clauses (I like x, and she likes y)

Comma + Coordinating conjunction (allows two main clauses to coexist)

Clauses should also be connected by sensible connecting words (WRONG: She is not interested in sports, AND she likes watching them on TV. - “and” should be replaced with “but”)

Question 58

Define the role of a comma (,)

Answer 58

A comma (,) is not exclusively tested on the GMAT, but it is an important signal and separator of modifiers, items in a list and other elements

Non-essential modifiers are separated by commons

ex. This car, purchased last year, is a Buick.

Essential modifiers are not separated by commas

ex. The car purchased last year is a Buick.

Question 59

Define the role of a semicolon (;)

Answer 59

A semicolon (;) connects two closely related statements, but each statement must be able to stand alone as an independent sentence

ex. Earl walked to school; he later ate his lunch.

Conjunctive adverbs (transition expressions) often follow semicolons (ex. however, therefore, in addition - are not true conjunctions like “and” and as a result we must use semicolons, not commas, to join the sentences. Note that they modify the equal relationship that a bare semicolon implies. ex. A and B are inseparable; therefore, we never see them apart.)

Question 60

Define the role of a colon (:)

Answer 60

A colon (:) provides further explanation for what comes before it

You should be able to insert the word “namely” or the phrase “that is: after the colon to test that it was used correctly

ex. I love listening to many kinds of music: [namely or that is] classical, rock, rap, and pop.

Note that whatever needs explanation should be placed as close to the colon as possible

A main clause can follow a colon as long as it explains what precedes the colon

Question 61

Define the role of a Dash (-)

Answer 61

A dash (-) is a flexible punctuation mark that can be used as an emphatic comma, semicolon, or colon

Dashes are preferred to separate an appositive (noun or pronoun often with modifiers, set beside a noun or pronoun to explain or identify it) from an item in a list
ex. My three best friends - Danny, Jimmy, Joey - and I went skiing. (If a comma was used, it might confuse people into thinking that 7 people went skiing)

Dashes can also be used to explain or restate an earlier part of a sentence (unlike a colon, the dash does not need to be immediately preceded by the part that needs explanation

You really can’t go wrong with a dash

Question 62

Define Quantity Rule #1

Answer 62

There are words for countable things vs. uncountable things

Countable Modifiers (ex. Hats - many, not many, few, fewer, fewest, number of, fewer than x, numerous, more numerous)

Uncountable Modifiers (ex. Patience - much, not much, little, less, least, amount, less than a certain amount, great, greater)

“More”, “most”, “enough”, and “all” work with both countable (plural) and uncountable (singular nouns)

Do not use “less” with countable items
(Wrong: 10 items or LESS - “less” should be “fewer”

Be careful with unit nouns such as “dollars” or gallons” (they are countable by nature (1 dollar, 2 dollars) but represent uncountable quantities (money, volume)

We use “less” to indicate something about the underlying quantity (ex. We have LESS THAN 20 DOLLARS.)

Question 63

Define Quantity Rule #2

Answer 63

Words used to relate two things vs. three things

Two Things (Two People): comparative form of adjectives and adverbs (better, worse, more, less)

Three Things or more (Three people or more): use superlative forms (best, worse, most, least)

“Between” is used only with two things or people
(ex. “Between X and Y”, NOT “Between X, Y, and Z”)

“Among” is used only with three or more things or people (Among X, Y, and Z)

Question 64

Define Quantity Rule #3

Answer 64

“The number” or “number of” vs “a number” or “the number of”

“the number of” = singular
“a number of” = plural

“The numberS of” is almost always incorrect (stick to “the number of”

“NumberS” is possible in a few contexts (use “greater than” instead of “more than” when making a comparison)

WRONG: The rare Montauk beaked griffin is not extinct; its NUMBERS are now suspected to be much MORE than before. (replace “more” with “greater” to correct the sentence)

Question 65

Define Quantity Rule #4

Answer 65

Increase / Decrease vs. Greater / Less

“Increase” & “Decrease” express a change of one thing over time

“Greater” & “Less” signal a comparison between two things

Watch out for redundancy of “increase” / “decrease”

Wrong: The price of silver FELL by a more than 35% DECREASE